## Agreed Upon Procedures Engagement (SRS-4400)

### What is it?

A non-assurance engagement where the practitioner performs specific procedures that are:

1. Decided by management of the entity (and/or other specified parties), AND

2. Agreed to by the practitioner.

### Key Characteristics

Feature	Position
Who decides procedures?	Management of the entity
Does the practitioner give assurance?	No
What does the practitioner issue?	A Factual Findings Report
Nature of report	States what was done and what was found — no opinion, no conclusion

### Why No Assurance?

The practitioner only performs the agreed steps and reports facts. Since the scope is pre-set by others and does not require the practitioner to form an independent conclusion, no assurance expression is possible or appropriate.

### Governing Standard

Standard on Related Services SRS-4400 — Engagements to Perform Agreed-Upon Procedures Regarding Financial Information.

> Exam tip (CA Inter): ICAI has given only a broad overview here; full detail is in CA Final. Expect 1 mark theory or MCQ from this area.

Worked example

### Example 1

Example: A bank requires an entity to verify whether specific debtors exceed ₹50 lakh. The bank, the entity, and the practitioner all agree on the exact procedure (circularise the top-10 debtors). The practitioner performs only those steps and issues a report stating 'Debtor X balance confirmed at ₹62 lakh' — no opinion on whether the financial statements are true and fair is given.

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

Confusing Agreed Upon Procedures with an audit — AUP gives NO assurance; an audit gives reasonable assurance.
Assuming the practitioner designs the procedures — under SRS-4400, procedures are decided by management/specified parties and agreed by the practitioner, not independently designed by the practitioner.
Thinking the report expresses an opinion — the report only states factual findings.

Bare-Act text SRS-4400 · ICAI Standard on Related Services · click to expand

Under SRS-4400, the practitioner performs procedures of an audit nature to which the practitioner and the entity and any appropriate third parties have agreed and to report on factual findings. No assurance is expressed.

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Non-Assurance Engagements – Agreed Upon Procedures (SRS-4400)

Worked example

⚠️ Common exam mistakes